"How did we start? At brunch. " Albeit not very rock 'n' roll, this is Michael John Grant's simple explanation of how his band Basic Cable came together. What was a weekend brunch routine turned musical one early afternoon last January, after the crew realized that between them, they had a proper rock band line-up. "During a drunken moment, we said "Why don't we add instruments and see if it's ok? We had been friends already for years. " The friendship at the center is what Grant...

Syfy has acquired the U.S. basic cable rights to all 39 episodes of Starz 's cult gladiator drama " Spartacus ." The deal encompasses all three of "Spartacus'" main seasons, "Blood and Sand," "Vengeance" and "War of the Damned," plus its six-episode prequel series "Gods of the Arena." "Spartacus" will make its basic cable premiere on Thursday, June 26 at 10 p.m., following Syfy's original dramas "Defiance" at 8 p.m. and "Dominion" at 9 p.m. Contrary to...

Auds stayed glued to the feud Wednesday, as History's finale of miniseries "Hatfields and McCoys" drew a whopping 14.3 million viewers. The huge tune-in breaks the record set Monday by part one of "Hatfields" (13.9 million) as the most-watched entertainment telecast in basic cable history. And Wednesday's conclusion also drew the largest adults 25-54 audience for a basic-cable entertainment telecast (6.3 million) since USA miniseries...

The Television Academy announced Wednesday its honorees for the seventh annual Television Academy Honors , recognizing programs that use TV to bring awareness to important social issues. This year's honorees include the Showtime skeins " The Big C : hereafter" and "Comedy Warriors: Healing Through Humor," ABC Family's " The Fosters ," HBO's "Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God," CBS laffer "Mom," Conde Nast...

BASIC CABLE "Cold Mountain" . 7 p.m., USA Renee Zellweger makes up for Nicole Kidman's artfully messy hair and single-smudged face by looking as if she actually has done manual labor in this 2003 Civil War drama. Zellweger stars as a struggling woman who is hired by prissy Ada (Kidman) to help work her farm when the menfolk leave for war. While Ada's getting blisters, her true love (Jude Law, above) has deserted and is trying to get home. Donald Sutherland, Brendan Gleeson and Ray...

"How did we start? At brunch. " Albeit not very rock 'n' roll, this is Michael John Grant's simple explanation of how his band Basic Cable came together. What was a weekend brunch routine turned musical one early afternoon last January, after the crew realized that between them, they had a proper rock band line-up. "During a drunken moment, we said "Why don't we add instruments and see if it's ok? We had been friends already for years. " The friendship at the center is what Grant...

The Game Show Network hopes to wring some laughs from the old standby: Men think like this ; women think like that . "Mind of a Man" debuts January 8 and is hosted by stand-up comedian DeRay Davis, who told me he had to adapt his R-rated instincts for basic cable. "It's almost like going to meet a girl's parents for the first time, every time," the Chicago native said when I reached him at home in Los Angeles. "You have to be funny and keep them entertained, but...

The eye-popping claim certainly got some headline play : Comcast raised basic-cable rates 68% from 2009-13, while Time Warner Cable -- the target of Comcast's proposed $45 billion acquisition -- actually reduced them by 2.5% over the same time period. That's according to an analysis of rates for several providers conducted by Free Press , a public-interest group that vehemently opposes the MSOs' combination. Cablevision basic rates climbed...

BASIC CABLE "DAVE" (star)(star)(star)1/2 8 p.m., HALL The story of an idealist (played by Kevin Kline) who finds himself caught up in the cynicism of politics. It's a film of irresistible charm, a big commercial comedy that returns honor to the notion. MPAA rating: PG-13.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mystical ice creatures, fire-breathing dragons, and the people caught in between return to the small screen come April 6, when HBO's "Game of Thrones" unsheathes a fourth season that could see it crowned as the cable network's most watched series in history. The medieval fantasy drama's fan base has grown substantially over its first three seasons, with sizable followings among both men and women thanks to its wrenching interpersonal...

BASIC CABLE "GOODFELLAS" . . 6 p.m., AMC Nicholas Pileggi's book about Henry Hill, an ex-mobster now in the Witness Protection Program, formed the basis for this violent but funny 1990 Martin Scorsese offering. The film earned six Academy Award nominations, including a win for Joe Pesci as best supporting actor. Robert De Niro also stars. MPAA rating: R

The Game Show Network hopes to wring some laughs from the old standby: Men think like this ; women think like that . "Mind of a Man" debuts January 8 and is hosted by stand-up comedian DeRay Davis, who told me he had to adapt his R-rated instincts for basic cable. "It's almost like going to meet a girl's parents for the first time, every time," the Chicago native said when I reached him at home in Los Angeles. "You have to be funny and keep them entertained, but...

On Sunday night, WGN-Ch. 9 will air "Bozo's Circus: The Lost Tape," a 1971 episode that an alert archivist discovered after four decades of gathering dust. At the same time, WGN America, the station's national cable counterpart, will beam reruns of the sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" to its 75 million subscribers across the country. Part of Tribune Co.'s future may rest with programming decisions like that. Poised to emerge from its lengthy bankruptcy, the...

AMC 's " The Walking Dead ," basic cable's biggest series of all time, opened its fourth season Sunday with more record numbers. Despite facing higher-rated sports competition this year from both football and postseason baseball, "Walking Dead" returned Sunday with a monster average audience of 16.1 million viewers -- more than 5 million viewers better than last year's 10.87 million and more than double where it kicked off its second season...

In summer 2000, TNT might have been best known for Saturday night airings of "MonsterVision," hosted by cult-movie aficionado Joe Bob Briggs. Imagine the eyebrows the network must have raised when it unveiled " Bull " that August. "Bull" was a scripted drama from a cable network that had never produced one before, centered on an industry that had really never been the focus of a TV program, led by a producer -- Michael S. Chernuchin -- better known for his touch with...

By Mary Milliken LOS ANGELES, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Television drama "Breaking Bad" won the top Primetime Emmy award for the first time on Sunday, just as the gritty tale of a chemistry teacher turned meth cook and drug kingpin winds down to widespread acclaim. Although it won best drama series for its fifth season, AMC's "Breaking Bad" has just one episode left to air next Sunday in its sixth and final season. Its creators credited a changing...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Millions of Time Warner Cable subscribers in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas could be without CBS Corp programming for several weeks as the two companies appear no closer to settling a fee dispute, analysts said. The blackout that began on Friday, when Time Warner Cable dropped the No. 1-rated U.S. broadcast network, has affected an estimated 3.5 million customers, including golf fans who missed Tiger Woods' victory in the Bridgestone Invitational on...